An important and exceptional interview today with Fox News Brett Baier and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The diplomatic schedule for T-Rex over the next 36 hours is simply jaw-dropping in scope as he heads to New York to deliver personal remarks to the United Nations Security Council and hold bi-lateral sideline briefings with member delegations.

In advance of execution of the a schedule planned for months, T-Rex sits down with Brett Baier and discusses what the long-term goals of the U.S. administration are, and how the developed partnerships are now aligned to produce a diplomatic outcome.

This is not only an important interview, it is a GREAT interview. Man, are we in good hands here or what.

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Secretary T-Rex is ALL THAT and a bag o’ diplomatic chips. Buckets of awesome. Transcript below

QUESTION: Well, first of all, I want to get you on the pressing issue of the day. It seems that North Korea, this situation, is getting pretty grave.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, Bret, you know when the President was inaugurated and we took office, we entered office confronted with a very serious threat from North Korea. We knew that coming in, and the President gave that immediate attention. One of the first topics that he asked the National Security Council to address was the threat of North Korea. We’ve put in place a very deliberate strategy which we are just in the early stages of executing, and it is one that does involve bringing significant pressure to bear on the regime in Pyongyang. It also involves calling on China to play a role in how we deal with this threat.

So again, you’re right; tensions are running a bit high right now. We expected they would. And our approach to addressing this issue, we know there’s going to be risk involved. Those risks are very measured. We shared those with the President. He’s been very deliberate about the actions that he’s asked us to take, and we’ll see how this all plays out.

QUESTION: So far, the policy seems a lot like the policy that has been in place for the past eight years, which is imposing sanctions, or trying to, on a heavily sanctioned country already, and asking China to do more or pressuring it to do more. How is this different, or is it at all different, from what the Obama administration was trying to do?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, Bret, I think it’s different in terms of both the intensity and the expectations we have for global participation. We obviously had direct talks with the Chinese during President Xi’s visit to Mar-a-Lago. I first spoke to the Chinese on my first trip to Beijing to make clear to them that we were unwilling to negotiate our way to the negotiating table. And I think that’s the mistakes of the past – that the regime in North Korea has to position itself in a different place in order for us to be willing to engage in talks.

We are asking a lot of the Chinese. I think in the past, the assumption has been the Chinese would only take limited action. We’re going to test that assumption. We’re going to test their willingness to help us address this serious threat that it’s not only one to the region and to us, but is becoming a threat to China themselves. And so we’re asking that they evaluate the situation.

But I think what’s different is we have expanded the network of calling on others to fully implement the sanctions under the UN Security Council resolutions, which have never been fully implemented. So we’re holding people accountable to implementing these sanctions, and we are broadening our call to other nations to put pressure on Pyongyang, because Pyongyang’s missiles can now go in any direction. And this is a threat that is now moving out of the region and it’s becoming global.

QUESTION: The head of U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, was up on Capitol Hill today and here’s what he said: “It seems that we are faced with a threat and a leader who is intent on achieving his goal of a nuclear capability against the United States.” [And Senator McCain said]: “And it’s clear that his goal is a nuclear weapon and the means to deliver it to the United States of America. Is there any doubt in your mind?” [Admiral Harris said]: “There is no doubt in my mind, Mr. Chairman.”

Considering that, what can we offer North Korea that somehow gets them off of their nuclear goals?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, the regime in the past has indicated the reason they pursue nuclear weapons is they feel that is the only way to ensure their survival as a regime. We want to change that view of theirs. We want to change that calculus of theirs. And we have said to them that your pathway to survival and security is to eliminate your nuclear weapons, and we and other countries will be prepared to help you on a pathway of economic development and become a stable, secure part of a stable, prosperous Northeast Asia.

Now, that is how we de-risk North Korea to China as well, as I think it’s well understood China has concerns about destabilizing the regime in North Korea due to possible impacts of a failed regime. We have been very clear we do not seek regime change in North Korea, we’re not seeking a collapse of the regime, we are not seeking to find some excuse for an accelerated reunification of the peninsula. What we are seeking is the same thing China has said they seek: a full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

QUESTION: You’re heading up to the UN Security Council tomorrow.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Yes, I’ll be there tomorrow to address the UN Security Council.

QUESTION: And what are you looking for them to do?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: We’ll be reinforcing these same messages of the need for everyone to fulfill their obligations under the sanctions accords and fully implement the sanctions, and we’re going to be discussing what next steps may be necessary to increase the pressure on the regime in Pyongyang to have them reconsider their current posture.

QUESTION: Is China doing enough? Last week in a press conference, the President said it’s doing several unusual things, had transpired in regard to China’s assistance in this effort. What were those things? What is China doing?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, without getting into too many details in terms of confidentiality, Bret, what I would say is that there is significant communication going on weekly between ourselves and our counterparts in China. We know that China is in communications with the regime in Pyongyang. They confirmed to us that they had requested the regime conduct no further nuclear test; and in fact, we were told by the Chinese that they informed the regime that if they did conduct a further nuclear test, China would be taking sanctions actions on their own. So I think the Chinese seem to be willing to work with us. We hope they are. We believe that they are an important element to us causing the regime to take a different view towards future talks.

QUESTION: A couple more things on this: Today, your spokesperson, Mark Toner, said that you wanted to see progress in the short term, but pressed on that, “What is short term, what is progress,” there was no answer. So I guess the question is: How long is the U.S. willing to wait?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, we’ve got to see a real change on the part of the posture of the regime in North Korea. Now, how do we see that? Well, we’ll wait as long as it takes, as long as the threat is manageable.

Now, what we’ve seen thus far is two significant dates have gone by in the 105th birthday of the founder as well as their significant Armed Forces Day on the 25th. On neither of those days were what we consider to be serious tests carried out. There was no ICBM test. There have been no further nuclear test. And we have asked and said to them first and foremost these provocative tests must end. Beyond that, then we’ll be talking to them about other indications we will be looking for from them that they truly are ready to engage on a completely different basis for future talks.

QUESTION: Isn’t that a version of strategic patience?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: We will know it when we see it.

QUESTION: Do you fear that Kim Jong-un is unstable, not able to make reasonable decisions on this front?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: All indications, Bret, by intelligence agencies – and there have been a number of independent psychologists who’ve done analysis as best they can – all indications are that he is not crazy. He may be ruthless. He may be a murderer. He may be someone who in many respects we would say by our standards is irrational. But he is not insane. And indications are in the past, and when certain events have happened, he has taken rational – he’s made rational choices. Now, we don’t have a long history with this young leader, only about five years, so we recognize we are dealing with a relative level of unknown and uncertainty. That is part of the risk that the President has been willing to take in this approach.

QUESTION: You had the senators over to the White House for that briefing. There were a few Democrats, like Tammy Duckworth, who said she thought it was a dog-and-pony show. But most of them – Democrats and Republicans – valued that. Democrat Chris Coons said this: “This is not the time for us to slash investment in diplomacy and development around the world. The initial budgetary proposals from the Trump administration suggest a nearly 30 percent cut to the State Department. This is exactly the moment where we need to be leading with diplomacy.”

So does he have a point? Are you worried about cuts?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, I’m worried about cuts longer term. We have undertaken a budget exercise to accommodate as best we can the President’s objective to reduce the cost of what we do over here at the State Department. And we’ll be engaged with appropriators on the Hill to talk about how we will manage through that.

Clearly, Bret, aid programs are an important part of our diplomatic efforts around the world, and we want to protect those. But importantly, we want to deliver them effectively. We want to ensure the American taxpayer is getting good value for the dollars that they have trusted us with to devote towards these programs.

QUESTION: So it’s not a done deal yet, as far as what that number is?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: As you know, we’ll go through a budgeting process with the appropriators on the Hill, and what I hope is that they’ll listen carefully to our approach and that they will also allow us significant flexibility so that we can direct these monies to the areas that we believe have the greatest need.

QUESTION: The administration’s State Department is well behind predecessors in nominating key positions. When the department lacks these political appointees, career employees then fill those roles. Are you concerned the State Department is not executing the President’s foreign policy fully or more completely because there just aren’t the people and they’re filled with career employees?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, Bret, I think to this point I’m quite satisfied with the performance of the State Department. It has been challenging. We’ve asked a lot of fewer people to help us get these policies underway, whether it be North Korea, whether it be reviewing our Iran policy, whether it be reacting to situations in Syria, Russia, other hotspots around the world. Yes, I look forward to welcoming our appointees here to the State Department. I think, clearly, we will be more effective and will help enhance our efforts.

But I want to quickly add I have been extremely pleased with the career professionals that have stepped into these roles. They know they’re in an acting role, and they’ve stepped up and they’ve really provided me and those who are working with me what we need to advise the President and be effective in these policies.

QUESTION: So you don’t detect any hostility towards President Trump’s foreign policy from the State Department bureaucracy?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Bret, these are career folks, and I would say – it’s what I said to all of them the day I arrived – I understand some of you, this didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to; I’m calling on your professionalism, which I trust every one of you to exhibit. And I would tell you by and large, Bret, with very, very few exceptions, people have really stepped up and done what we need them to do.

QUESTION: Administration officials tell us that White House officials pushed the State Department to rewrite the JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal, certification letter to include pretty aggressive language on Iran’s destabilizing behavior. How much – was that the White House coming in saying you have to do something different? How much input did you have in that initial decision?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, I was directly engaged in it. And I think what was important to me is I understand the White House’s perspective was we cannot think about Iran in terms of the JCPOA alone, and I agree with that. And I think one of the flaws behind the entire JCPOA process is it seemed to have been carried out to the exclusion of all the other aspects of Iran’s behavior as a state sponsor of terrorism, their disruptive behavior throughout the region. Iran is a serious threat to the U.S. today and to stability in the region. And I think there the concern was that issuing a 90-day statutory requirement indicating compliance on the JCPOA was going to signal that somehow everything was okay with Iran and us, and it is not okay between Iran and us.

QUESTION: And there are other factors, Iran playing a role in Yemen —

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Serious, serious factors that we are going to have to address, and I think that – and that is what we were trying to reflect. And it was merely a question do you put that in a letter to Congress or do I come out and make a strong statement the next day, and we opted for the latter.

QUESTION: I know you have a busy day. I just have a couple more things. Your relationship with Defense Secretary Mattis and your communication – how much do you all talk?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, I had dinner with him last night. I had breakfast with him this morning. When we are not traveling, the Secretary and I speak essentially every day. I would – I don’t want to go so far as to say we’re joined at the hip, but neither one of us makes a move without calling the other. And I will tell you, it’s really one of the most rewarding relationships I have at this time in the cabinet.

QUESTION: Have you all made a decision on the Paris climate agreement?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: It’s still under consideration. There was a meeting this afternoon to discuss all the aspects of that. And Secretary – or Director Cohn is leading the effort around coming to a conclusion on that.

QUESTION: Last thing: 100 days in. Now, you ran a big company, a very big one, and they had some – you had some complex things to deal with around the world on oil and with Exxon. Put this job in perspective?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: I think it’s just – Bret, it’s the enormity of what I know I’m responsible for. It’s one thing – and I felt a deep responsibility to my shareholders and to the employees when I was at the Exxon-Mobil Corporation. I enjoyed 41-and-a-half terrific years there. But when you’re representing 300 million-plus Americans, and you realize you’re dealing with things that are going to put lives on the line, and you’re dealing with decisions that are likely to cost lives, the burden is significantly heavier and the issues are much more complex. So this is significantly more difficult, more complex, and the consequences are greater – and I fully appreciate the difference between the two.

QUESTION: And we appreciate your service. Mr. Secretary, thanks for the time here at the State Department.

In many ways your observation is correct. He has no knowledge or insight on this problem ‘left over from history’, nor any real world experience. He, as most of the other talking heads, just are in the Swampy DC grove. Ignorance and arrogance, probably in equal measures.

Baier is no different then literally everyone in these posistions now…Completely unqualified and lacking any skill set whatsoever for his posistion….It’s like they throw a dart at a wall of pictures to pick these people….He’s also a sap.

…and boybaer trying to equate what Sec Tillerson, Trump45 and the administration are doing to oblunder’s strategic patience. Good grief! I was screaming at my tablet…boybaer is an idiot and hideous at his job, complete moron!

WOW! Finally we have a serious person as Secretary of State. I have been super impressed with Tillerson since day 1. We are lucky he accepted this responsibility.

It was malpractice to put Hillary and Kerry in responsible positions – a couple of liars and grifters only intending to burnish their careers. I don’t even have words to describe how pathetic these two were. I wouldn’t trust either of them to negotiate with my gardner to upgrade my landscaping. So angry about the Obama scam…and the heist of our taxpayer money and our future safety.

Just what was wrong with a political grifter and a gigolo as SoS’s? They were certainly good for more than a few laughs…..Who can forget Hillary’s Russian “Reset” button fiasco? Or the regular stream of non-sequiturs from Lurch? Pure hilarity!

I love that “LOOK”, and I love this man. His work ethic, intelligence, and moral character are such an asset in his position as Secretary of State. President Trump has done a great job with his cabinet picks. The one video made me cautious of Mulvaney but watching more and more of his videos I am growing to like and respect him also. I believe he has had a definite come to Trump moment in taking his position. After the last administration this new one is a breath of fresh air.

I sincerely hope they drop the climate fix. This is not the UN, Barrycare, NAFTA, or a score of things that has been fully institutionalized and has legs. This is like a pot of nascent maggots, like TPP, and it’s appropriate to exterminate it.

Since CAGW is such a hot topic with the Dem-wits, I think President Trump is keeping the Paris Accord off the table while he deals with other things.

If Dr. Evans and others like Astrophysicist, Dr. Habibullo Abdussamatov, Head of Space Research Laboratory at the Pulkovo Observatory are correct, we are looking at a Little Ice Age starting in the next year or so. Actually Dr. Abdussamatov has said The new Little Ice Age has started and should be making itself felt.

Italy captured the world’s one day snow fall record twice in March 2015 you would think the Vatican would not ignore such signs.
240cm (7.84 ft) in Pescocostanzo
256cm (8.34 ft) of snow Capracotta
Not far away, the Greek islands in the Mediterranean were buried under 6½ ft (2 m) of snow in January. And in Norway they were forced to remove excessive snow from ski slopes – “During the last two days we’ve got more snow than we had in the last two years together,” says Vegar Sårheim. “I had never believed we would experience this.”

Actually the change in the climate began a few years ago with the switch causing ‘polar vortex’ in winter.

Oregon’s snow pack this year ranges from 140% to 110% above normal (average of the past 20 years.) Also, we are receiving record rainfall, thankfully in daily amounts that do not lead to flooding, putting to rest the climate fanatics claims of drought!
This fits the predictions above. Frankly, I would prefer warming – highs are still around 55º! That’s way too cold for April!

Why are we still dealing with the u.n. as if it matters? I might just be a rube (unquestionably), but I want us to shake that whole corrupt gaggle right off of our backs, immediately! Taking the building down to the ground, asking every member living the life here to go right back to where they came from, after paying off their parking tickets first. Why isn’t this possible?

One thing UN and NATO and other similar gaggles, is that they take up the time and energy of people who would otherwise be beating the drums of war. UN is much cheaper than even a little war.

And, BTW, what happened to the “punish China” thing? A couple of early mornings ago, I heard a radio ad warning of the dangers of China hacking all of our computers [scary music] and getting our SS numbers {scary music], our names and addresses {scary music], and China must be ….. {scary music] ”

Yes sir…Sec Tillerson is one smart cookie and when the President gushed over him after interviewing him I thought it was rather odd at time(just for a moment), but President Trump is without a doubt a good judge of people….

President Trumps cabinet is the best of America, just like he promised! Sec. of State Rex Tillerson commands respect and emanates leadership, knowledge and experience. He’s like the superman protecting Americans from the bad guys.

He is deeply versed in the intricacies surrounding North Korea and has a team mate, General Mattis, at his side. Yes, … yes, we are in the best hands. Even if things get very ugly, I completely trust that T-Rex has our backs.

If I were in the military, it would be an honor to serve under President Trump and Sec. Of State Tillerson. I hope our men and women read CTH! Leadership like this makes me so proud to be an American. For such a long time, It has felt like our blessed country’s was slipping away, with no humanly way to save it. Thank you God for saving this exceptional country!

Mz Molly Anna, I get it that you wanted to express approval and admiration for Rex Tillerson. But if you were in the military your chain of command wouldt top out at Jim Mattis Secretary of Defense and Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump. If you were a Foreign Service officer, then you would be working for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
It’s just a detail.

Still digesting my reaction to the first link, the “simply jaw dropping in scope”, where the questioners to the Dept’s press secretary, this being his last press conference for the department, the press kept on saying how honorably he handled his duties over the past few months – as if he was somehow having to work for a disgusting, not-honorable Secretary of State! I’m still trying to get over that – and am very, very, very glad to have heard it is that man’s last press briefing.

Definitely need new blood in that press briefing post – hoping it’s someone that will shake up that cozy little press group up. Wow. Talk about swamp creatures.

Listening to that first link, still absorbing the analysis on the other link as to why congress no longer writes the laws, it’s staggering the amount of swamp cleaning that is beginning to get done.

This is my reminder – time to restock the popcorn pantry. It’s we’re still in the warm-up phase, waiting for the rest of the players to take their positions in the field.

I loved how he strongly commended the “career” people! Like, who needs appointees? I think he glued 95% of them to himself with that first speech to the entire staff. I could feel the air in the room change. Talk about short 14 1/2 minutes! I wanted to go up there and work for him myself!

I can’t imagine anyone else in the Tillerson role.
The man is the epitome of professionalism and will set the standard for any future SOS.
Political hacks like Kerry and Hillary have made us look bad for too long.

It’s a good that we’re using the diplomatic options and not immediately going to war. And it looks like China is helping, and yes NK didn’t conduct 2 of the expected missile tests. However the daily death to USA videos and rhetoric still continue. Back to the question of how long do we wait, NK is in year 105 instead of 2017 like the rest of the planet. They’re taught to worship gods grandpa, dad, and lil Kim from birth. They’re brainwashed to believe they need missiles to protect their very own survival from imminent attack from the US. How does Kim walk that back in the minds of 24million people and still maintain his deity and control? It’s going to take a long time to de-program those poor people even with cooperation. So how long do we wait, do we keep our Armada at the ready indefinitely until we see major cooperation and change? I don’t see this ending well for Kim for us to get what we want. Curious as to other opinions.

joshua: “maybe….global warming and pollution will just take Kimmie out for us in the long run”

Reminds me of the old joke…
Lady to smoker: “Those cigarettes will kill you!”
Smoker replies: “I’m counting on it. I’m committing suicide and I’m too much of a coward to pull the trigger.”
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How Kim Jong Un thinks he’ll survive this beyond the near term is a mystery to me. He is not stupid, and no one is lining up to sell him a life insurance policy.

bflyjesusgrl,
“I don’t see this ending well for Kim for us to get what we want.”

Good point. Maybe I can add some. Remember what happened to Libya and Khadafi when he gave up nuclear weapons? Or Saddam Hussein? Kim has driven home the point to all, all his hierarchy what happens with slight weakening of their hold on power or retreat from real nukes.

Further, how can anyone trust the US, long term, given the US’s Military Industrial Complex history of war, the self funding rogue CIA regime changes, Neocons, NeoLibs?

And what about the clandestine World groups too numerous to list without high performance tinfoil head gear (Rothschilds, Bilderbergs, CAIR, etc). So, who do you really deal with?

And democracies are in themselves too fickle to know what they will do at the longest, in 8 years, so how can you trust a democracy?

We have a good negotiation team at the moment, Kim will just wait them out until a bad one comes along.

Kim has the toughest issues, we have a simple one, just Kim, a rational ruthless despot, and all he has to do is lay low for 8 years and make no progress on rockets and Nukes in exchange for whatever he needs.

Critically, Kim is not like Mohammed’s muslims dreaming of worldwide subjugation. He is only dangerous because he could sell nukes to the muslims.

This will only look like it went somewhere. Stalemate, with no nuke advancement, is the real solution.

I have the pleasure of acquaintance with a former Hitler Youth member. She is now in her 90’s. Fled Czech, ended up in a Soviet labor camp, escaped, with others, bribed a ferryman to “freedom”, wandered, with others, in the woods for many days w/o food and water…with a small child they had found along the way.
Late one night, they saw lights, and ended up being taken in by American soldiers.
She had been brainwashed, and was most fearful of the Americans, having been taught they were animals, and was convinced the soldiers would kill them. She was devastated when Hitler committed suicide.
Some time later, the soldiers helped her, and others, to move along a thread of actions that resulted in coming to America.
Her de-programming consisted of American kindness in large quantity…their actions proved the lie to her brainwashing.
Incidentally, she spent subsequent decades of her life travelling the world, speaking to Military wives on bases, and being a huge advocate for the American Military: they not only rescued her, saving her life, but their kindness resulted in her citizenship in the USA.
The Truth is a powerful antidote to thorough brainwashing.
BTW, she give all the glory to God.

Okay, grl, first – it’s easy to change the minds of the brainwashed.
“Think different thoughts today people!”
“Why?”
“Because I said so!”
“Okay.”
While NK may be in year 105, did you know that Israel and most of Judaism is in the year 5777!

Sec Tillerson tried to reassure all that they are not seeking regime change so that was reassuring to me but of course if this little twerp tries anything then I guess he is toast….but thea of no war is very reassuring to me.

A straight-up, straight-shooting, no-nonsense, Texan.
Much props on this pick, Mr. President!

If we are this impressed with Tillerson in an interview, imagine how impressed foreign dignitaries and leaders are with him. No wonder Putin wanted to meet him – he knows he isn’t going to be bullsh*ted by Tillerson like he was from Kerry and Clinton.

The truth is, NK is a problem we’ve been feeding instead of starving for a long time. It’s a lot more dangerous now than it was 20 years ago, when Clinton sent Carter in to negotiate a deal. Now Trump has to face the monster who is a lot stronger. Reality is, this guy could push the button. I’m confident we have plans, but no plan is perfect. These are dangerous times, but I’ll sleep better tonight, knowing PDJT is in the White House and not Hillary.

It is going to take time for the media people who are familiar dealing with corrupt incompetents to now deal with high moral value competents. Especially, when the media themselves are corrupt incompetents.

This is a high stakes game of poker. T-Rex good cop, Pres Trump bad cop. Not sure why we are picking this fight now, with Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, GWOT, Ukraine, Russia all flash points. Not why people voted for Trump. Our military has been severely weakened by O sequestration and 14 yrs of war. Of course I hope his bluff wins, but odds are not in our favor. If we get in a war with North Korea, public support will quickly vanish, end of Trump presidency and maybe worse. Good time to start praying.